How to Dramatically Improve Conversion Rates in Healthcare IT

November 28, 2018

6 Min Read

According to the 2018 Demand Generation Benchmark Survey, the top two marketing priorities are focusing on lead quality over quantity and improving conversion rates. Moreover, 35% of those surveyed planned an increase of 20% to their marketing budgets.

That’s a lot of money to invest if you are unsure of your lead quality or your ability to convert.

So, for those in the healthcare IT world, what can you do to get the most impact possible out of your campaigns?

1) Focus your message on the right person.

The sheer number of stakeholders involved in purchasing your solution can be daunting – but that only makes this step even more important. Just because you have content that brings a lot of physicians on board as champions does not mean you have the right content for the CTO.

Here’s an example: an EHR platform might talk to a doctor about ease-of-use and how the solution will still allow plenty of time for patient interaction. For the CTO, though, they will talk about interoperability and security.

Stop guessing what your stakeholders are really interested in; find out in their own words. #HITMC #HCLDR #HealthIT @mmsjennifer

To do this effectively, you need to stop guessing what your stakeholders are really interested in – you need to find out for sure. Even better, find out in their own words. Listen in on sales conversations. Pay attention to the questions and comments you get in your webinars. Find out what your implementation team learns from each new client. That’s how you can know you’ve got the right messaging.

Even worse than talking to the wrong stakeholder, however, is talking about yourself. I’ve seen healthcare IT companies carefully craft drip campaigns – that only talk about themselves. Their awards, their features, their capabilities – but not their prospect.

You wouldn’t go to a party and blather on about how awesome you are. Don’t do that in your marketing. #HITMC HCLDR #HealthIT @mmsjennifer

Don’t be that company. Talk about what your prospect wants to hear – and make sure you have something of interest for every stakeholder you target.

2) Clean up points of confusion.

Once you know who you are talking to and what they want to find out, make sure nothing gets in the way of them receiving that information. Any point of confusion – no matter how small – can be enough for someone to lose interest.

The #1 place to watch for these points of confusion is your ads. Take a look at this PPC ad and landing page (based on a real-life example but cleaned up to remove identifying logos and text). The ad is very clear and straightforward – if you want medical revenue cycle software, that’s what they’ve got:

But go to the landing page and you might wonder what you clicked:

There is no mention of medical revenue cycle software in the hero section, or even immediately below. When I scrolled farther I saw it – but I wouldn’t bet my marketing budget that people will scroll, especially when the competing ads let me know from the get-go that I had landed in the right place.

The thing about pay-per-click ads is that they are notorious for being set up and forgotten, or outsourced and not monitored. Campaigns change and it’s easy to forget there was ever an ad pointing to the old landing page. This is how ads wind up talking about something completely incongruous to the landing page.

How often do you check your PPC ads? When was the last time you clicked all the way through to see what the landing page looks like? If you don’t know, it’s time to do it. #HITMC #HCLDR #HealthIT @mmsjennifer

Worst of all is when the ad links right to the homepage. I still get approached a few times a year by companies that are doing this. A homepage is the most confusing place you could send someone from an ad. Think about it: your homepage is trying to offer a jumping-off point for a variety of stakeholders. It has links to a bazillion different posts and products. And it has calls-to-action that are not matched to your ad.

Make things easy for your prospect: give them a single message and CTA. Make sure the ad and the landing page convey both. And never use your homepage to convert from targeted ads again.

3) Fill in missing steps in your funnel.

Your goal is to move each stakeholder into a deeper relationship with you. Each has their own questions and their own concerns – which means they each need their own funnel.

Are you shunting all your stakeholders down the same funnel? Tailored funnels will give you better results. #HITMC #HCLDR #HealthIT @mmsjennifer

Take a good look at your content calendar – which stakeholders are represented in it? Which are missing? Dig deep – do you have TOFU content for a stakeholder but nothing else? That’s a problem.

And here’s a hint: if the only CTA on your site is “demo request,” you have gaps in your funnel. A demo is, at best, MOFU-level content. You need something to offer while people warm up to the idea of your demo.

4) Unify communication gaps among teams.

Healthcare IT teams are frequently as siloed as the health system they seek to help. Sales reps are notoriously independent. Marketers despair of ever getting sales team data into the CRM. And the developers barely interact with either group.

This is a recipe for a sub-optimal prospect experience. Maybe prospects get TOFU information from the marketing team – only to have a salesperson rush in and try to close. Or they get deeply allied with a sales rep, only to start getting marketing emails that don’t know about their existing relationship with your company.

It’s not enough for Marketing and Sales to align – they have to align forces with Implementation, Support and Development, too. #HITMC #HCLDR #HealthIT @mmsjennifer

Solid conversion rates start with solid team communication. Your marketers and your sales teams need to be on the same page – but so do your implementation, support and development teams. Each of these groups has different – but vital – experiences with your prospects and clients. To ensure your company has the whole picture, they need to work together.

You have to dig deep to increase conversion.

If your marketing priorities are lead quality and increased conversion, then you need to take the time to go through every layer of your funnel. Make sure you are targeting the right person – and that all necessary stakeholders have content just for them. Reduce confusing messaging and see that something of value is offered at every stage of your funnel. Above all, make sure that your sales, marketing and IT teams all work together. That’s the blueprint for increasing your conversion.

About the author

Jennifer Michelle

Jennifer Michelle specializes in lead generation for healthcare IT companies. As President of Michelle Marketing Strategies, she helps healthcare technology companies address gaps in their marketing strategy, develop action plans and implement successful marketing campaigns. For more information, visit michellemarketingstrategies.com.

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The Healthcare and IT Marketing Community (HITMC) is an extension of the HITMC conference that is the first of its kind event that brings together marketing and PR professionals from throughout the health care community. We strive to provide amazing marketing and PR related content that helps HealthIT companies and healthcare organizations stand out amidst all the noise of the industry. If you’re looking to market to hospital executives, doctors, practice managers, patients, or other healthcare professionals, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to the HITMC community!